There are a number of habits that will make you successful. Then there are the habits that will make you really, really successful. If you want to be able to take your life to the next level, then think about adding these attributes to your life.

#1. Get the day started early. Time is an asset that is unfortunately fleeting. That’s why those who are really successful wind up getting their day started as early as 4am. This gives you more control over your morning routine so you don’t feel rushed. It also allows you to pursue personal interests when your energy levels are high.

#2. Think about a good workout. You don’t have to hit the gym to get some exercise. A little stretching is enough to get you to start thinking more clearly. Exercise isn’t always easy to make happen, so try to add 10 minutes of exercise when you first wake up to clear your mind.

#3. Spend your energy wisely. There’s only so much energy that you’re going to have on any given day. Even if you drink 10 cups of coffee, there’s a certain limit to what the human body can do. Those who are successful know how much fuel is in their tank and make sure to dedicate time for inspiration and creativity before it’s time to fuel up at the end of the day.

#4. There’s a certain level of gratitude. It’s one thing to say that you have gratitude. It’s a whole other practice to write down what you’re grateful about. Start a gratitude journal and you will force your mind to look for the small, perfect moments that are happening around you. As you look for the positive, a natural consequence occurs: you begin to ignore the negative.

#5. Is there substance to what you’re doing? If you knew that your time was limited on this planet to 24 hours, would you still do what you’re doing right now? If the answer to this question isn’t positive, then you’ve got some changes to make in your life. Everything matters to those who are really successful.

#6. Do the hard stuff first. The hardest work of the day seems a lot easier when you’ve got extra energy to do it. Save the easy stuff for the late afternoon when you’re ready to call it a day so that you can stay productive.

#7. Meditate. 9 out of 10 illnesses today are related to stress. If you are able to keep your calm and capitalize on those few moments of quiet that happen during the day, you’ll be able to keep going strong and stay well.

Those who are really, really successful practice these components of life every day. It allows them to chart their own course, reduce stress, and find happiness. Incorporate the habits into your own life and you will be amazed at how much success will want to head your way!

Does it seem like you’ve got a day that has just slipped away from you? Do you head home feeling like you didn’t accomplish everything you wanted to be able to accomplish? That happens to everyone, so the first step is to release any guilt you might be feeling. If this is becoming a chronic feeling, however, these 7 effective time management tips can help you take action to eliminate the problem.

#1. Find the things that waste your time. Every time you swap your focus from one task to another, you lose 15 minutes of time on average. That means things like updating your Facebook status or watching a cat jump over a unicorn while running on a rainbow will need to stop. List these out and then eliminate them.

#2. Get rid of the apps too. Social networking apps are bad, but modern game apps are worse. Their push notifications sound alarms or even vocally encourage you to play the game. Even the sound can rob you of your focus. Just eliminate the apps, mute your phone, or turn off the push notifications if you can.

#3. Have a daily goal. People are more productive when they have daily goals to meet. Everyone starts strong in the morning, but will hit a mid-day lull that can cause them to quit if they don’t have a goal to meet. With an achievable goal, you can power through the fatigue or boredom and set new records of productivity.

#4. Start with the important stuff. If you start with the hardest stuff to do first, as many people do, you don’t always leave time for the most important stuff. Do the important tasks first and then rank the importance of other items. If you rank things based on difficulty, you’ll just be disappointed.

#5. You’re probably not a supertasker. Multitasking is a popular interview question, but only 2% of the human race can actually do it effectively. Most people lose time through daydreaming, window staring, or laughing at a funny fast memory. Just don’t try it and you won’t lose time because of it.

#6. There is always wasted time somewhere. How long did you have to wait for your last doctor’s appointment? Or stand in line for a sandwich at lunch? Instead of reading the 6 month old magazines, take along items that can help you be productive. Many offices and restaurants have access to free WiFi, so you can take work along with you and not fall so far behind.

#7. Get legitimate feedback. Content like this can give you advice, and following it is a good first step, but receiving feedback is better. Listen to what people are telling you about your habits and take the good out of that advice as much as possible. Don’t take constructive criticism personally. This kind of feedback allows you to see yourself through the eyes of others. That’s why it is such an effective mechanism for change.

You don’t have to feel guilty about a wasted day any more. Use these 7 effective and proven tips today to better manage your time and tomorrow just might end up being a perfect day.

Stress happens in some form every day. It might be in the form of a relationship that needs to be repaired, a micro-managing supervisor, or an overdue project that you’re not sure you can complete. When stress happens, the mind tries to shut down. If you can handle stress when you’re in that moment, then you can overcome it and do amazing things!

#1. Take 3 deep breaths when you feel stress attack. One of the problems of stress is that it creates a lot of tension. Instead of investing in aspirin or pain relief creams, try taking 3 deep breaths as soon as you feel the tension of stress hit you. These deep breaths can often alleviate the tension and reduce the impact that stress tries to make on your life. If your neck or shoulders feel tight, try moving them about just a bit.

#2. Find a friendly ear that you trust. One of the most effective methods of coping with stress is to verbalize your feelings. If you can find someone who will be willing to listen to you vent and not take the words that you are saying personally, then you’ll have an ally that can help you handle stress more effectively. It often takes just a few minutes of turning stressful thoughts into words to eliminate the tension that sets in. If you can’t talk it out, then try writing it out as a method of expression instead.

#3. Give yourself some positive feedback. “Stop being so stupid.” “Why did you decide to do that in the first place?” “You’re being ridiculous right now.” These are common phrases that people tell themselves when they are stressed out. It’s a form of venting, most certainly, but it also increases the level of stress that someone feels. Negative self-talk always lowers confidence and self-esteem, which then creates the conditions for more stress. Give yourself some positive feedback instead, like “You’ve got this” or “Let’s calm down for a minute and then get back to work.”

#4. Maybe you’re not actually feeling stress. The anticipation of a big project or a lot of work actually kicks the body’s adrenal glands into high gear. You might be feeling agitated and crazy, but that could be because your body has flooded your system with a high level of adrenaline. Instead of focusing on the feelings, focus on what you can do with the increased energy levels. There’s a good chance that you can funnel your agitation into huge productivity.

#5. List it out. Making a list of the things you need to do can help you better organize your day and relieve the stress that comes with uncertainty. A simple task-orientated list where you prioritize what needs to be accomplished is often good enough to eliminate the tension that tries to bog you down. Listing out the chores for the day also tends to help people accomplish more throughout the day.

Are you proactively managing your stress? These 5 proven methods will help you conquer stress before it conquers you. Implement them today and you will be amazed at how productive you can be!

Many of us have put in 12 hour days at the office, working hard to get that last minute project completed. The only problem is that even with a fresh attitude and a lot of energy, it doesn’t take long for the distractions of life to take hold. Most people can only go about 2 hours before they start spending time on Facebook or Twitter. Add in emails, text messages, phone calls from home to pick up the milk… and out of those 12 hours, you’re maybe actually working 5-6 hours in total.

That’s all well and good when you’re earning a paycheck from an employer. When you’re an entrepreneur and your pay is based on your productivity, however, those distractions could cost you a lot of money every year. It pays to work smart.

Why Are We Always So Busy?

The modern lifestyle is a busy one for everyone these days, but it is a choice that each person has made that makes it this way. We can each choose to slow life down, work hard for 8 hours with a break here and there, and then spend time pursuing a hobby, taking a hike in the woods, or playing with the kids. We choose to be busy because it’s a badge of honor.

We were busy. That means we had a good day.

Many times we’ll complain about how busy we are and this too becomes a badge of courage. If you’re more swamped than someone else, then you’re more important than that person – at least in your eyes. The only problem is that your busy life is taking away the things that truly matter in life. ears from now, it won’t be the busy times that you look back upon fondly. It will be those special, perfect moments where you did the things you love with the people you love.

How Can Changes Be Made?

The good news is that you can begin to change right now. The fastest way is to set deadlines for yourself that must be met. When we have actual deadlines, we stay focused. Those distractions go away because you have tunnel vision on the project at hand. You can give yourself 45 minutes or 4 hours – as long as the timing makes sense and you stick to it, you’ll find that a line in the sand helps a lot.

Once you’ve done that, then cut out the non-essential tasks you’ve got going on. Eliminate low paying activities to give high paying ones a better priority. Get rid of meetings that are just a waste of time. Always be working on something that will pay you now or in the future as an entrepreneur.

The final change is to set rigid scheduling. This might require help from someone, like a virtual assistant, but it will keep you on task every day. In the end, you’ll be surprised about how much work you can get done… and you may just find that you’re not complaining about how busy you are any more.

There’s a lot of stuff going on in the world today. With Twitter, SMS texts, video calls, and plenty of other distractions, it’s understandable that some things don’t get done like you’d intended during the day. Yet some people always seem to come out on top. What are their secrets? What habits do they have that make them consistently productive?

1. Highly Productive People Don’t Multitask

To be a team player, many managers like to hear how you can effectively multitask multiple projects. If you’re switching back and forth between different jobs every 15 minutes, however, you’ve got a recipe for getting nothing done very quickly. Your brain reacts negatively to multiple switches, so highly productive people will focus in on one task, complete it, then start on the next task. The myth that people who multitask is simply not true.

2. Set Realistic Tasks for Yourself

What are the things that you need to get done today? If you’ve got macro-goals listed, then chances are you’re not going to accomplish them whatsoever. Macro-goals, or the completion of a major project, are generally not completed in a work day. Instead, look for micro-goals that you can complete, which are the tiny steps required for the macro-goal to be realized. You’ll feel like you accomplished a lot more in a day if you can accomplish several micro-goals instead of zero macro-goals. Inch by inch, life is a cinch.

3. Schedule Time for Your E-mail

One of the worst distractions there is today is the e-mail. Many people have a work account, a personal account, and a mobile account that will all notify you when you’ve got a new message. Instead of immediately responding to each and every e-mail you receive immediately, set two or three times during the day where you dedicate yourself to answering messages. This will help you be more effective with your answers… and more effective with your other work. Some very successful people actually turn off their email notifications so that they are not constantly being distracted.

4. Don’t Let Your Day be Dictated

If you know that you’ve got specific goals that need to be accomplished, then work on your own terms and get that stuff done! The world won’t end if someone needs to have a request delayed for 24 hours in most circumstances in most jobs. There might always be that emergency situation that demands an immediate response, but for the most part, you can control how people influence you. Ignore the negative, focus on the positive.

5. Work Smarter, Not Harder

Have you ever felt tired after a long meeting? Do you feel hungry after a creative session? Your brain consumes a lot of glucose during the work day and long sessions of output can actually drain you of the ability to create a professional level of work. Every hour or so, get up, grab a snack or something to drink, walk around for a few minutes, and then let yourself get back to work. The short break will help you produce more, with better quality, and that will make everyone happy and you more productive.

How many times do you hit the 3pm wall? Most afternoons, even on a fairly light work day, can seem almost impossible to get through without feeling fatigued and unfocused. You’re ready to call it a day and veg out in your favorite spot on the couch. The problem may not actually be your energy levels. That 3pm wall could be a result of the food that you’re eating for lunch.

The food that you eat during the day affects you more than you might think. A bad choice at lunch or extra snacks at your desk could be having a direct impact on your mind’s performance.

What Are You Choosing To Eat During the Day?

Many workers tend to grab a fast lunch when they’re hungry because they have limited time. Fast lunches generally mean a burger, a sandwich, or maybe some pizza. It is pretty common to follow these foods up with a soda. The result is that you feel energized for a couple of hours, but the glucose that is created from these foods ends up burning away very quickly. By 3pm, you’re not only feeling hungry, but you are feeling tired because the glucose has peaked and now it’s very, very low.

Healthy lunch options aren’t always feasible. Fast lunch options feel like they are the most efficient option that there is. Saving 15 minutes because you grabbed a double cheeseburger through the drive-thru, however, could be costing you 120 minutes or more at work thanks to the weaker performance your body has with the weaker fuel that you’ve given yourself.

How Can This All Be Changed?

It is important to plan out your day’s eating choices before you end up getting hungry. When the body gets hungry, temptations tend to dominate the choices that are made instead of the healthy foods. In other words, when your stomach is growling, you’re more likely to eat junk food than a salad with low-fat dressing. Choose where you’re going to eat when you get to work instead of making it a last minute decision.

When plans are made, it becomes a lot easier to resist high fat, high sodium foods that taste delicious, but are terrible for productivity.

Changing how you eat at work can also help a lot. Your body has a relatively small gas tank, which means a large meal is only going to get you so far. The spikes in blood sugar make you feel great, but then you feel lousy. Smaller meals that you can eat throughout the day, instead of a high sugar snack or a few crackers or chips, will help you get past that wall much more effectively.

That’s not to say snacking is a bad thing. Healthy snacking, when it is planned out, will dominate your eating habits. Place visual cues to eat healthier foods, such as placing a can of nuts on your desk. Have some fruit around. The vital nutrients will help you think more clearly and limit the temptations to eat unhealthy foods at lunch.

In return, you’ll break down that 3pm wall and stay strong throughout the rest of the afternoon.